Category Living within limitations

“Those who know do not talk. Those who talk do not know.” This is food for thought for those of us who write blogs, talk more than our fair share, or have been told that they write well. What does Lao Tzu say that is specifically uplifting and useful for those of us who choose to write publicly? Not just in a beautiful, abstract-chinese-landscape-philosophical way but also in common sense, nuts and bolts fashion? And what would Lao Tzu say about writing about bipolar disorder?

This is the first of two posts about the myth of Skylla and Charybdris. In this first post the myth itself is detailed, with many beautiful illustrations. The second post will explore what lessons this myth can teach us about living with bipolar disorder. What do we do when faced with what seems to be a forced choice between two dangerous outcomes — the dilemma in which Odysseus was placed on his long journey home. As Odysseus asks Circe, “Come then, goddess, answer me truthfully this: is there some way for me /to escape away from deadly Charybdis, but yet fight the other one off, when she attacks my companions?”

When I am moderately to severely depressed, my brain is mushy enough that I have trouble remembering how to take care of myself. So I keep a list on hand to remind myself what to do when I’m in trouble. When I’ve done everything I can, then I cry uncle and ask for drugs, but before that point I need to rely on these antidepressants.